Welcome to the third installment of “The Benefits of Professional Content Writing.” In this piece, I’d like to discuss one of the most fundamental laws of sales and how it relates to your site’s content:
Positive emotions create customers.
Whether you’re selling actual knickknacks or selling yourself, connecting with your readers on an emotional level will always, always make them eager to read more. As a result, one of the most difficult tasks for professional content writers is identifying, understanding and leveraging the power of common emotional responses to create engaging and effective copy. Professional writers are not satisfied with simply describing a product, listing its benefits and providing a few testimonials. They know that, ultimately, words alone do not create customers. They know that emotions create customers.
In light of this, let’s take a look at how these emotional processes affect peoples’ reading — and buying — habits.
Long before I left my day job to focus on writing, I worked in jewelry with a guy named Rich. Rich was the kind of salesman that could sell a glass of water to a drowning man. He could walk up to the most difficult customer and, without once mentioning a diamond’s characteristics, send that customer out the door with a new engagement ring. One of the best pieces of wisdom that Rich ever gave me was:
People don’t buy products, they buy experiences.
In the world of content writing, that philosophy is paramount. Without the benefit of face-to-face interaction, casual conversation or adaptable sales strategies, content writers need to lean on everyday experiences and use the emotions created by those experiences to present every product, every service and every pitch in the most endearing light. One of the most common mistakes made by DIY content writers is overlooking the impact that emotion and experience have on their readers. So, let’s take a look at an example of some poorly written copy and then find ways to improve upon it:
This microfiber electric blanket sports eight sets of independent heating coils. Featuring twelve different temperature settings, a unique timed shutoff toggle and an outer layer of luxurious Egyptian cotton, this blanket is designed to keep users warm all year round.
After reading the above description, would you be likely to purchase this electric blanket over any of the other options on the market? I’m guessing not. The description does well in regards to communicating the blanket’s features, even touching on a few of its benefits, however, it fails to create an emotional response because it doesn’t tie those benefits in with a common experience. Let’s take a look at a rewrite that addresses this issue:
Turn even the coldest winter evening into a warm summer night with this luxurious, self-heating Egyptian cotton blanket. With twelve temperature settings, gone are the days of waking up in the middle of the night to blindly adjust the thermostat. Now you can rest assured that your your toes will stay toasty and your sleep will be undisturbed.
By linking the product’s features with common experiences — in this case, waking up in the middle of the night — we create an immediate, recognizable bond between the customer and the product. Nearly everyone can relate to bumbling around in the middle of the night, shivering down the hallway in search of the thermostat. By linking that experience directly to the product’s benefits, our new description leaves no doubt in the reader’s mind: this blanket will benefit them.
In summary, professional content writers find ways to insert your product or service into your reader’s lives. They seek to give potential customers the feeling, the experience of what you’re offering. As we’ve gone over before in the previous installments, it’s not enough to simply rattle off benefits, features and options… you have to draw the customer in, empathize with them and find ways to convince them that what you are offering is what they are missing.
Tune in next time where we’ll talk about first impressions!
